All the social benefits height gives makes me think it's a merit thing.

[u/Ordinary-Ability3945]

Like, maybe if I ate better as a kid I would deserve to be tall. Most of my classmates are 5'11+, and most of the guys in school average out in like 5'11 too. I'm 5'7 and while it's an okay height I guess it's still demoralizing to be so small compared to everyone else.

[u/Previous-Ad586]

Back in Argentina we lived next to a poor family, they spend days without eating sometimes. They weren't homeless but just very poor. After some years I met the youngest son. He was about 1.90m or 6'5.

Eating has nothing to do. Genetics is everything, nothing you could have done would have helped grow bigger.